Answers

(1) Corn snakes are medium sized, non-venomous constrictors that is in the
large common snake family Colubridae, which includes milks, waters, garters, racers,
pines, bulls, and king snakes. Their scientific name is Elaphe guttata.

(2) The disposition of individual adult corn snakes can range from fair to
excellent with very good to excellent being the norm. Babies and wild caught animals may
bite, but time in captivity will almost always eliminate this.

(5) The most appropriate food for hatchling corn snakes are
pinkies (newborn mice). Once acclimated, hatchling corn snakes can consume mice
every two to five days with the size of the feeder animals increasing as the snakes grow.
Some guidelines when trying to feed baby corn snakes include: (a) Be sure to keep
the snake warm. (b) Place the hatchling in a small enough container so that it will
readily encounter the intended meal.

(6) (a) Place a pinky mouse with the hatchling for a few
hours. If uneaten, replace for a while with a dead pinky. (b) Wash a pinky in soap and
water, rinse, and dry. Then present to the hatchling. Try live, then a dead one. Washing
apparently can remove some scent that can inhibit eating by some hatchling snakes. (c) Rub
a pinky with a small lizard such as anoles to transfer some of the scent. (d) Place
a moistened section of a skin or shed skin from a lizard on the head and back of a
pre-killed pinky. A lizard kept frozen can be a good source of bits of skin.

(7) Problems with shedding may arise if a cage has too little
humidity or if a snake is particularly late in trying to start the removal process. Under
such circumstances, the skin that is due to come off becomes difficult to separate from
the underlying skin and shedding may be incomplete or may result in many torn pieces.
Soaking a snake in water for a while or leaving a snake over night in a damp, cloth sack
with moss in it can make it easier for either the snake or the keeper to peel off the
remaining skin. You should always supply your snake with a water bowl large enough that it
can soak itself in.

(8) Captive raised corn snakes are generally capable of
reproducing in the second year after they hatch, though some may take until their third
year. The minimum size of a sexually mature corn snake is about three feet long and many
corn snakes will exceed this by the age of two years.

(9) Adult corn snakes are easily sexed by examining the underside
of the tails. The tails of females begin to taper immediately or almost immediately after
the vent. The tails of males remain virtually untapered until well behind the vent. Males
also have somewhat longer tails relative to their size. Hatchlings are sexed by a method
called popping. This is done by applying a modest amount of pressure on the underside of
the base of the tail with one's thumb. This pressure is applied both downward and forward
and is best done by rolling one's thumb forward over the base of the tail. This will
evert the twin hemipenes of baby males. Females are distinguished by a failure to evert
hemipenes. This technique takes a little practice. Probing can also be used to determine
the sex of corn snakes of all ages, but should be taught by a person with experience.

(10) A newborn pinky mouse or at least one that is at least five
days old, is enough for a meal for a 12 inch youngster. Baby corn snakes will eat every
four to five days. An adult corn snake needs one to two adult mice per week to maintain
good health.

(11) Buying hatchlings or juvenile corn snakes has certain
advantages over buying adults. They will typically be less expensive than an adult
and will generally be of known age and potentially live longer than adults.
Additionally, one can also get a certain satisfaction from raising a hatchling to
adulthood.

(12) Corn snakes, especially young ones, should have daily access
to temperatures between 80 degrees and 85 degrees in order to do well. A good method of
heating is the use of quality undertank heating pads. Access to warm areas are critically
important to the health of your snake. Appropriate heating is required for proper
digestion and the efficient functioning of the immune system.

(13) Corn snakes, like most snakes, like to feel secure in their
environment. One way of providing for this need is to put hide boxes in the enclosure.
Hide boxes can be made of anything as long as the snake can completely fit inside the area
and hide itself from view. A hide box should be placed both on the warm end and the cool
end of the cage so that the animal can feel secure in any spot. Corn snakes kept without
appropriate hiding areas become stressed and may refuse to eat.

(14) A good rule of thumb is to feed the snake a food item that is
the same size or close to the snake's diameter. Feed an item that is too large and the
snake will often regurgitate it. Snakes will also regurgitate if they do not have a warm
area or if they are handled too soon after they eat.

(15) Corn snakes are among the most easily handled and most recommended of all
pet snakes. Adult corn snakes in captivity are typically calm and rather slow moving
animals that are readily handled without any of the biting, thrashing around, and
defecating or musking that is sometimes seen in other snakes.

(16) Keeping two corn snakes together is fine, but you should
always separate them at feeding time. If two corn snakes seize the same mouse, whether
alive or frozen, they will instantly wrap around both the mouse and one another. A corn
snake will not normally release its jaws from an intended meal that it is constricting
until after the prey has ceased moving. If two snakes have the same mouse, each will feel
the other struggling and both will tenaciously refuse to release their grip. Prevent this
from happening at all cost.

(18) Corn snakes generally lay their eggs from 31 to 45 days after
mating, averaging about 39 days. However, if the female is not ovulating at the time she
is bred, she saves the sperm until she does ovulate. This will affect the number of days
it takes until she lays the eggs.

(19) Yes, but laying eggs is a taxing experiencing for female corn
snakes. One clutch of eggs will typically reduce a female's body weight by a third. If a
female double clutches in a particular year, her weight after laying the second clutch may
be less than half her peak weight earlier in the year. You should only breed an older or a
snake with good body weight twice in one summer.

(20) Nose rubbing is a fairly frequent injury among some snake
species and a damaged nose caused by excessive rubbing on the walls or top of a cage is an
attempt to get out of a cage. Although corn snakes in general, do not appear to be very
prone to severe nose rubbing problems. I have seen a few juveniles that were kept in
plastic shoe boxes without a hide box develop white, swollen noses from rubbing. This
problem is solved by moving the animal into more spacious cages containing one or more
hide boxes.

(21) You should take the eggs from the female as soon as she has
completed laying her eggs and put them in a container like a plastic shoe box. These work
well because they completely close to reduce the drying effect of breezes. Only a few
scattered pinholes in the lid are needed to let enough oxygen in so that the eggs can
breathe. Many materials work adequately as incubation media. My personal favorite is
coarse vermiculite which I combine with equal parts of water. Then I take the vermiculite
and squeeze the water out and place it in the nest box up to about half the box. You
then place the eggs in the vermiculite in the same position in which they were
layed. Never rotate the eggs. Keep the eggs at about 82 degrees until they hatch. Eggs
hatch in times varying from 50 to 100 days, the average being 65 days at 82 degrees.

(23) I personally do not recommend pine shavings because they
cause excessive drying of dermal tissues and can cause serious internal intestinal
blockage if swallowed. Acceptable substrates include reptile bark, newspaper, paper
towels, and Astroturf. I personally use several layers of newspaper because it is very
absorbent and can easily be replaced quickly. This substrate, while not particularly
attractive, allows one to keep the cage very clean by continuously replacing the soiled
paper.

(24) This can be a rather simple matter, by using plain paper or newsprint as a
cage substrate because it can be inspected for semen after the mating attempt since a
small, yellowish, viscous spillage nearly always follows a successful breeding episode.
This sperm spill is more noticeable on paper than mulch and is easy to look for on the
following day.

(26) Plastic shoe boxes make ideal starter cages for baby corn
snakes. They are inexpensive and are readily available at retail stores. The lids either
snap down securely or can be held tight with a weight placed upon them. These cages can
house a baby corn snake comfortably for a half year or longer depending upon the growth
rate or until it attains a length of 18 to 20 inches.

(27) I use plastic shoe boxes with snap-on lids for my nest box
needs. They are moisture-proof and also allow easy visual checking without removing the
snake. A single, round entrance hole, about twice the female's widest diameter is cut in
the top of a box. You can use moistened sphagnum moss or moistened vermiculite as a laying
media in the nest box.

(28) First, never leave a live rodent unsupervised with your snake, but if you
do have a snake that has been bitten by a mouse, you should first clean such wounds with a
water flush and then apply a broad-spectrum antimicrobial liquid mix comprised of hydrogen
peroxide (diluted 50/50 with water) and betadine added to achieve the color of weak, iced
tea. Use immediately and discard the remainder. Afterwards, apply an antibiotic such as
Neosporin cream to speed healing.

(29) Mouth rot is quite curable, but requires persistence on the keeper's part.
Mild cases of mouth rot may be treated topically with Listerine or hydrogen peroxide and
betadine solution, mixing hydrogen peroxide and water 50/50 and add betadine until the
color of the solution resembles weakened, iced tea. Apply with a cotton swab to the
affected area twice daily. Do not apply liberal amounts of either liquid in order to avoid
ingestion. In more severe cases, you should call a qualified reptile veterinarian for a
bacterial culture and the appropriate antibiotic.

(30) It is possible to treat a mild respiratory infection at home
by providing a warm, dry environment. You should raise the temperature to the high end of
the snake's preferred temperature range, around 89 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the
equivalent of giving it an artificial fever to help it fight germs and eliminate all
possible stresses. The sick snake should be isolated in a separate cage or if possible, a
separate room to avoid spreading the problem. A trip to the veterinarian for a bacterial
culture and an antibiotic is recommended for more serious or stubborn cases.